SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean charter plane departed for the US on Wednesday to revive Korean workers detained in a Georgia immigration attack.
A total of 475 workers, more than 300 Koreans, were rounded up in the September 4th attack at a battery factory under construction at Hyundai’s vast automobile factory west of Savannah. US authorities have released a video showing what is tied up with chains around the hands, ankles and hips.
The South Korean government later said it had reached an agreement with the US to release workers.
Korean television footage showed a charter plane taking off at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul on Wednesday morning. Media reports say the plane will return to South Korea with workers detained Thursday afternoon.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry previously said it was pushing for charter planes to depart from the US during the US period on Wednesday.
The U.S. Homeland Security Agency’s biggest attack on workplaces was Large deportation agenda. We targeted Georgia. There, many large Korean companies run it and plan future investments. Just a few weeks ago, South Korea had pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in US investments to reach tariff contracts. US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held them First Summit In Washington on August 25th.
Trump said this week that workers were “illegally here.” And the United States needs to work with other countries to train professionals to train US citizens, in order to do professional jobs such as batteries and computer manufacturing.
Charles Kack, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta, told the Associated Press on Monday, on behalf of four Korean citizens in detention, that the US company has not made the machinery used at a battery factory in Georgia. So they had to come from overseas to install or repair equipment on the premises. This involves training someone in the US, he said.
While many Koreans see the attack on Georgia as a source of national dishonor, experts say the country will not take any major retaliatory measures given its deep military and economic ties with the United States, but if a similar incident occurs again, bilateral relations could suffer a retreat.
Bloody-made South Korea-US military alliance during the Korean War of 1950-53 has experienced ups and downs for decades. However, research shows that the majority of South Korea support the two countries’ alliance. This supports the alliance of both countries as 28,500 troops in South Korea and 50,000 Japanese troops serve as the backbone of the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
At a Cabinet Council meeting on Tuesday, Lee said he felt “great responsibility” for the attack and hopes that the operations of South Korean companies will not be unfairly violated again. He said his government will push for better systems in close consultations with the US to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
